Australian outstanding housing credit hits record $1.407t in October

The RBA released their financial aggregates report for October earlier this morning with total consumer credit expanding by 0.6% leaving the annual rate of growth at 5.7%. From a year earlier housing credit expanded 7.0%, the fastest pace since January 2011, while business credit grew 4.3%, a level last seen in June 2012. Personal credit, the long-time laggard of the three, rose a measly 1%, a level has it has oscillated around for more than a year.

Looking at housing specifically total outstanding credit rose to $1.407t in October, the highest level in the history of the survey. Credit to owner-occupiers stood at $927b with that to investors at $480b – both record highs. From a year earlier outstanding credit to owner-occupiers rose by 5.6%, the fastest expansion since December 2011, while that to investors by 9.9%, a level last seen in March 2008. Reflecting the surge in investor lending the percentage of outstanding housing credit owed by this component rose to 34.1%, the highest level since records began in 1990.